The Easy Option

You may think me audacious
or perhaps reckless and wild
if I say that I'm an adherent
of Oscar's notorious precept
that the only way to get rid
of temptation is to yield to it,
and you'd be quite correct.

I can't resist the fine flavour
of an aged good single malt
or the smell of a Cuban cigar.
I find that I have to surrender
to a pair of smouldering eyes,
to an encouraging warm smile
and the ardour they engender.

The fact that I cannot resist
the sirens' song of the senses
might seem I am a hedonist
but I am simply a bon vivant
a person with a refined taste
who enjoys life to the full
and yet will not be arrogant.

© Luigi Pagano 2022